Nanovor Evolution

Nanovor Evolution Overview

Nanovor Evolution is a futuristic game where kids use tiny robotic bugs that live inside computers to battle one another. Players start with several low tier nanovors, and must take part in battles to earn badges and new critters. Like Bakugan, Nanvor has turn-based combat. Players create teams of Nanvor and battle it out against AI opponents or other trainers. A short video explains the game’s basics to first-time players, and a series of tutorials answer any remaining questions players may have. Nanovor supports one on one battles where each participant commands a team of Nanovor.

There are three types, or families, of nanovors, and they are:

Magnamod - Nanovor in this family tend to have powerful attacks and high defense, but slower speeds than those of other types.

Velocitron - These Nanovor have electricity oriented attacks and skills.

Nanovor Evolution Screenshots

Nanovor Evolution Featured Video

Full Review

Nanovor Evolution Review

By, Erhan Altay

When Smith & Tinker first launched Nanovor in 2009 it was a simple, turn based game that didn’t have very many interesting features. Realizing their missteps, the company has relaunched a totally revamped version of the game. Nanovor Evolution plays right on the web browser and is powered by the Unity Web Player. The graphics and animations have been vastly improved, even while the client has been eliminated. It truly is an evolutionary change and makes Nanovor more accessible than ever before.

Nano-Lore

After a brief registration process, players must download the Unity browser plug-in before launching Nanovor for the first time. The game starts by introducing players to the lore behind Nanovors through a short animated video. Nanovors are silicon based critters that love fighting. They exist in cyberspace, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem since its the future and humans can easily enter this virtual space. A lengthy voice acted tutorial leads players through the process of customizing their avatar’s appearance, and exploring the small Nanocenter which includes a private room, shop, battle arena, minigame center, and collection library. The player character itself plays little role in Nanovor, but there are plenty of appearance customization options. Players can select from various face styles, hair styles, hair colors, and suit colors. Users are free to adjust their avatar appearance at any time, and additional appearance options can be purchased at the store.

Big Bad Battle Bugs

New players start with four basic Nanvor arranged in a team. Players are free to create additional teams. Teams come with two restrictions, the first is a numerical limit of six Nanovor. The second is that the total diamond value of Nanovor in a team cannot be more than seven. Most low tier Nanovor have a diamond rating of one, but some of the more powerful ones have higher values. This means players will have to decide if they want quantity or quality in their line up. The tutorial walks beginners through the first two battles which take place on a separate screen in turn based fashion. Nanovor is primarily aimed at young boys so the combat mechanics are not all that complex. It shouldn’t take more than a few matches to get a handle on things. All players have to do is drag one of their bugs onto the center of the arena and watch as it performs its attack. Each Nanovor only has a single, automated attack, but there are some advanced features thrown in to spice things up. For example, some Nanovor will glow blue which means they can start a combo attack. Players can follow up on a Combo with a special ‘splat’ attack that requires them to hit the space bar as a meter fills. Performing this attack correctly deals additional damage to the opponent. Victory in Nanovor isn’t achieved by defeating a single opposing critter, instead players must reduce their opponents overall health bar to zero. This usually requires KOing most of that player’s Nanovor.

Gotta Buy ‘em All!

Players earn jolt points by playing against either the AI or other users. Jolt points are the primary in-game currency and are required to upgrade the level of Nanovor already in your collection. Each Nanovor starts at level one and maxes out at level 3. Unfortunately, there’s not much else can be done with jolt points. To purchase new Nanovor, avatar items, or even minigames players will need to spend nanocash which is the premium currency. New players start with 20 nanocash, but must pay real cash to get more. Nanocash can even be used to purchase additional jolt points which allows paying players to immediately level up their bugs. There are currently around 50 different Nanovor and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some are floating, others are heavily armored, some have pincers, and others have long tentacles. Nanovor fall into three categories: Magna, Hexite, and Vtron. Generally speaking, Magna Nanovor tend to have powerful attacks and high defense but slower speeds. Hexites are fast, powerful, but have low defense. Vtrons hare somewhere in between and have electrical attacks. Because its nearly impossible to acquire additional Nanovor without paying, the game pushes players to sign up for a monthly subscription which offers a host of benefits. For $6.25/month players receive 2 new Nanovor per week, 80 nanocash, and 20% additional jolt points while playing. Nanovor may be free to play, but players won’t be able to compete without forking over some cash.

Explore Nano-Land

Despite being browser based, Nanovor Evolution offers a more in depth experience than its client based predecessor. Players can see one another in the persistent Nanocenter and challenge each other to duels, chat, or send buddy invites. Besides one on one duels, players can also take part in 2v2 team fights. There’s very little in the way of graphic options, but the visuals are still much smoother than what was available in the original version. Nanovor now competes directly with Bakugan, another turn based game where players battle monster on the browser. Bakugan is more complicated than Nanovor, but its still a small genre so players should see what both games have to offer. The official Nanovor page lists minigames as a feature, but there are only two available thus far while the rest are ‘coming soon.’

Nano Arcade

Besides battling Nanovor, players can enjoy several minigames. These minigames are all variants of popular flash games found across the internet. Players only start with access to a singel minigame, but can purchase additional ones using nanocash. Playing these minigames is an alternative method of earning jolt points, but mainly serves as a distraction. Expect additional arcade style minigames to be added in the future. The first minigame is called Nanostorm and is a simple base defense where players lob missiles at oncoming targets before they break down the building located at the opposite end. The second minigame is Sky Master which looks like a simple flight game where players must dodge obstacles and fly through rings. The chief problem with Nanovor Evolution is one that was shared with its predecessor. There’s just not enough to do. It’s difficult to build a game that can compete with all the accumulate content of a site like Neopets. Perhaps if each Nanovor had a few different attacks it would vary things up. As it stands now Nanovor is a simple game that can be played off and on in short bursts, but will grow repetitive fast.

Final Verdict: Good

Nanovor Evolution is a huge improvement over the original Nanovor. It offers improved visuals, faster paced gameplay, and is more easily accessible since it now plays on a browser window. It’s still a simple game, aimed primarily at a younger audience. The turn based combat can be enjoyed in short bursts, but the game still needs more content to hold our attention.